Tony Grist
Last Updated: 3 December 2024
As noted previously, I stole the phrase “Gun Culture 2.0” from Michael Bane after I heard him talk about it on his Downrange Radio podcast (and got his ex post facto approval btw), and alot of what I learned in my early days as a shooter were from Bob Mayne’s Handgun World Podcast.
So, I am indebted to the hard work of many podcasters, and correspondingly flattered when asked to be a guest. In order for me to keep track of these appearances, I am creating this landing page to collect links to the shows I’ve appeared on.
In reverse chronological order (newest first):
[54] Several months ago I spoke with Jennifer Carlson, the founding director of the Arizona State University Center for the Study of Guns in Society. This year she launched the Guns Unpacked podcast. She is at the top of her game so was well-prepared and highly engaged in this interview. I’m glad we focused in particular on bridging gun divides. Available on many platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and RSS Feed (1 December 2024).
[53] I have a very special relationship with Randy Miyan, Executive Director of the Liberal Gun Owners organization. We’re kind of like the odd couple, such that when Randy comes to my Sociology of Guns class at Wake Forest, he does his best not to curse. And when I go on his podcast, he tries to get me to curse. Mission accomplished in part 2 of this 3-part podcast series reflecting on the Gun Curious journey and thinking about what’s ahead. Following are Randy’s notes on the episodes (15-17 November 2024):
- Part 1: The Gun Curious book tour, closed minded liberals, dealing with rejection, believing in yourself, the dynamic duo
- Part 2: The triumvirate, penetrating the media, pleasing others, koi no taki nobori, David’s first F word
- Part 3: What’s next? Addressing gun-related negatives, saved by zero, look out 2025!
[52] I had never met Chris Dover of Clovertac before, but we run in some of the same circles so I was excited to appear on his YouTube live stream (watch recording here). I especially enjoyed thinking through the possibilities of a “big tent” gun culture with him, and imagining gun culture as being like a high school with a bunch of cliques that don’t like to talk to each other (23 September 2024).
[51] Had a great conversation about Gun Curious with Rob Beckman on The Firearms Trainer’s Podcast. We didn’t speak much about gun training and talked a lot about appreciating diversity and finding common ground as Americans (7 August 2024).
[50] My 50th podcast! I’ve done a bunch of gun podcasts and media interviews, but this is one of two long form conversations I’ve had with fellow scholars about my work (the other is forthcoming). Check it out! David Yamane is Gun Curious on The Annex Sociology Podcast (29 July 2024)
[49] I was very flattered when I signed on for this conversation about Gun Curious with Charlie Cook of Riding Shotgun with Charlie and Matt Mallory of Meet the Pressers and found them nattily attired in bowties (3 July 2024).
[48] I recorded this social Distance Learning conversation about Gun Curious with The Liberal Gun Club from the passenger seat of my truck while I was on vacation in Morehead City (20 June 2024).
[48] If you’ve read Gun Curious, you know “Top Shot” was important to my gun-owning career, just as it was to Caleb Giddings’ career in guns. So, I was extra excited to be a guest on his Gunday Brunch show (16 June 2024).
[47] My Gun Curious book event at Davie County Public Library in my adopted home town Mocksville, NC (13 June 2024) was very similar to the book launch event in Winston-Salem, but included more stories about Sandy since she grew up there.
[46] In “Liberal professor gets into guns,” I spoke about Gun Curious on Gun Talk with Tom Gresham shortly after its publication (2 June 2024).
[45] I was very excited to hold my Gun Curious book launch at The Bookhouse in Winston-Salem, NC, on 1 June 2024. My presentation included reading some passages from the book but also stepping back and thinking about the gun issue more broadly. See also the Question & Answer session from the event.
[44] Outdoor Crusade (6 June 2024): This was a fun conversation because the host, Jody Blackwelder, is a lifelong gun owner and outdoor enthusiast, so our contrasting experiences really come out. I especially enjoyed the discussion of hunting toward the end. With my Gun Culture 2.0 defensive gun ownership focus, hunting gets short-shrift in my work, but also in my experience. Jody and I talk about why and how we might overcome that deficit.
[43] Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (30 May 2024): This conversation with Gila Hayes was great in large part because she had read and seriously thought about Gun Curious before we spoke. She respectfully highlighted points on which we disagreed and used those as opportunities to advance the conversation.
[42] Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co. (28 May 2024): I’ve been traveling in many of the same circles as Cam Edwards for years now but this is the first time we’ve had a chance to talk. We covered a lot of ground, but focused especially on the diversity of gun owners and gun culture, especially my perspective as a liberal. I am interested in seeing how Cam’s mostly conservative audience receives the conversation.
[41] The fifth of five lessons I discuss in the conclusion to Gun Curious is the need to reclaim civil conversations with our fellow citizens about guns. In this episode of Gun Freedom Radio (28 May 2024), I talk about this lesson and also try to model it in a productive conversation with Cheryl and Danny Todd. Although we disagree on a number of political issues (they being self-professed conservatives and me being a liberal professor), we also agree on many issues pertaining to guns and gun culture. Cheryl and Danny are terrific interviewers and walked me through some important topics like what “curious” means in Gun Curious, the importance of taking my Sociology of Guns students on a field trip to the range, the meaning of “gun safety,” and how to approach conversations with people have different views of guns.
[40] “The Best Part of the Book with Mark Perzel” (24 May 2024) is produced by McFarland & Co. Publishers, whose Exposit Books imprint is publishing my book Gun Curious. Highlights of this podcast in my view are Mark Perzel’s excellent radio voice, the production quality, the fact that he read the book in advance of our interview, and my having the opportunity to talk about Sandy at the end.
[38] On the Bourbon and Barrels Podcast (26 May 2024), host and friend-who-I’ve-never-met-F2F, Kirk Wachenheimer, read my book in advance and asked some very good questions, especially about my experience in the civilian gun training cottage industry. But for me, the best part of this podcast was talking about bourbon, and especially my experience doing a barrel tasting and pick at Buffalo Trace Distillery a couple of years ago.
[37] I’m such a huge fan of what Walk the Talk America is trying to do in the guns and mental health space that I never turn down an opportunity to speak with their team. In this case, the occasion was to talk about my book Gun Curious but I also wanted to turn the tables some of Michael Sodini because he appears quite a bit in one of the chapters of my book. So, I recommend fast forwarding to about 32 minutes into the podcast for what I think is the best part: Gun Curious with David Yamane (17 May 2024).
[36] A Better Way 2A is an innovative social media site/company that boldly declares: “The American gun community is more diverse – and more polarized – than ever. Nuance is dying. Jordan and Andrew are extraordinarily unqualified to reflect on this rapidly shifting social landscape but there are currently no laws that say they can’t make a podcast.” I whole heartedly agree with the first part of this description. I had a fun and informative conversation with these good folks: “Bridging The Divide In The Gun Debate With David Yamane” (10 May 2024).
[35] Without is an award-winning podcast hosted by international bestselling author Omar El Akkad and produced by HyperObject Industries (founded by Hollywood Legend Adam McKay) & Sony Music Entertainment. When I spoke with Omar in January about my changing relationship to firearms and if a world without them is conceivable, I thought I was going to be just one of many guests. It turns out, I was the only guest. Omar is an admitted skeptic about civilian ownership of firearms and he asked good and challenging questions. He also allowed me ample opportunity to answer them. I can’t ask for more than that. I hope you benefit from devoting 34 minutes to Without: Guns (10 April 2024).
[34] I run in some of the same gun training circles as Mekkos “Memphis” Beech, but we’ve never met. So, I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him better and share some of my thoughts on contemporary American gun culture with him on his EDC: Every Day Conversations podcast (25 September 2024). It’s available both on YouTube, if you prefer looking at us, or via Apple podcasts and other podcatchers, if you would rather not.
[33] In his inaugural episode of his re-branded podcast, “Listening to America” (29 May 2023, public historian Clay Jenkinson drew on a recording he made of a conversation about understanding guns and gun violence in America. That section is about 36 minutes into this hour long podcast.
[32] I appeared with Wes Siler of Outside magazine on an episode of The Chuck ToddCast: Meet the Press (21 April 2024) on “‘This is not impossible’: Fixing U.S. gun culture in the age of NRA dominance.” I like the hopefulness of the main title even if I would question too general an application of the subtitle. Nonetheless, I found Chuck Todd to be a good and fair host. He had his views and I didn’t (expect to) change his mind, but he did acknowledge my good points when I made them.
[31] I am Asian-American (half Japanese-American on my father’s side) and grew up in Half Moon Bay, California. The coincidence of this with the mass murder of 7 people in Half Moon Bay by an Asian man led to a conversation recently with Randy Miyan on the Liberal Gun Owners podcast (8 & 10 April 2023). My appearance was broken into two separate segments (S2G35 and S2G36) and followed two segments with fellow half-Japanese-American (but also half-Chinese American) Chris Cheng (S2G33 and S2G34).
[30] Mathew Littman, the Executive Director of 97Percent, a newer gun violence prevention organization, was a guest speaker in my Sociology of Guns class in the fall semester of 2022. I returned the favor by appearing on the 97Percent podcast Talking About Guns (TAG) (23 February 2023). The episode reflects my perspective on guns in America pretty well, but more importantly, expresses my hope for greater mutual understanding on this divisive topic in 2023 and beyond.
[29] My discussion with Lucas Mather of The Republican Professor (28 December 2022) was my longest podcast appearance ever, at just over two hours. That’s a long time to listen to me speak, but it also allowed us to cover a lot of ground about my personal background, how I got into the study of guns, and my particular approach to studying and teaching about gun culture. If you listen to the Primary and Secondary Podcast, this is short by comparison!
[28] I joined Michael Sodini and Jake Wiskerchen of Walk the Talk America on their “Guns and Mental Health” podcast (28 April 2022). We had an interesting and wide-ranging discussion of all things sociology of guns and gun culture. Sodini had been a guest in my Sociology of Guns seminar at Wake Forest, which gave us some food for thought and reflection this podcast.
[27] An Arizona State University undergraduate philosophy major, Walt Anderson, reached out to me to be a part of something called the “Arthuria Discord Community.” He seemed earnest and so I took a chance and was glad I did. Mr. Anderson was very thoughtful, well-prepared, and asked some great questions about guns in society. I don’t know how their Discord Community discussions go, but he posted the raw video of our conversation on his personal YouTube channel (25 April 2022). Forgive my casual attire as we did the interview on a Sunday afternoon while I was working around my house.
[26] Live appearance on Gun Owners Radio out of San Diego that was also streamed on YouTube. I come in at 57 minutes and did two segments with the hosts, talking about my approach to researching gun culture, what Gun Culture 2.0 is, and what some of the implications of my research are.
[25] My appearance on The Reverend Hunter podcast on 8 April 2022 is available on all the usual podcast apps or by using this direct link to the podcast page.
Tony chats with sociologist, professor, and gun convert David Yamane. They talk about the difference between mores and folkways, parking the wrong way on the street, studying religion while being openly religious, the secularization thesis, the sunk cost fallacy in academia, shooting a gun for the first time, Gun Culture 1.0 vs. 2.0, the uneven distribution of guns in America, being Gun Curious, and more.
This podcast differed from others I’ve done, not just because of our common interest in the study of religion, but also due to our differing interests in the gun reality. As his title suggests, The Reverend Hunter is more of a Gun Culture 1.0 guy and I am firmly ensconced in Gun Culture 2.0.
[24] Enjoyed participating in a 3-part series on the Liberal Gun Owners Lens Podcast with Randy Miyan. Like some other recent podcast appearances, this one covered some novel ground. This includes talking about my “Light Over Heat” YouTube channel and my academic work in Part 1, my Sociology of Guns course at Wake Forest University in Part 2, and liberal bias in academia (especially with respect to guns) in Part 3 (19, 21, 23 March 2022).
[23] I appeared on 16 February 2022 on the “One Thing or Another Podcast” to talk about guns and gun culture. The host, Mark McNease, is a liberal gay man living in rural NJ. He found me because he is a member of the Liberal Gun Club, even though he is not a gun owner. He is part of the 1/3 of the population who don’t currently own guns but don’t rule them out. I.e., the GUN CURIOUS. This is a very informative podcast not because of my answers but because of the host’s questions. A lot of people out there have these same questions so I hope I answered them well in this case.
[22] Although I know next to nothing about historical firearms, I enjoyed speaking with Ashley Hlebinsky and Danny Michael on the Cody Firearms Museum’s “History Unloaded” podcast about my book, Concealed Carry Revolution, and my work in general (27 August 2021).
[21] Was flattered to be one of the first guests on Stephen Gutowski’s The Reload podcast (15 August 2021) to talk about the spread of gun carry in America, as well as new gun owners and other gun issues.
[20] Capping off a big week of podcasts for me talking about my book, Concealed Carry Revolution, I recorded my third episode of Ballistic Radio with John Johnston (11 August 2021). We spoke not only about the history of concealed carry laws in the US, but also about the issue of concealed carry training and the civilian gun training cottage industry.
[19] Although I comment frequently for stories in the mainstream media, almost every podcast I have been on has been pro-gun. Until this summer, when I was invited to be on an episode of Red, Blue, and Brady, the podcast of Brady United (formerly the Brady Campaign). I am happy to speak with anyone who has authentic questions about gun culture (6 August 2021).
[18] On July 31, 2021 I joined Wake Forest Law Professor Gregory Parks and a panel of other academics and experts for a thoughtful and thought-provoking webinar on race and guns in the U.S. The conversation examined how race intersects with the history of gun ownership in America, the roots of the Second Amendment, and the modern politics of guns. Panelists included Philip Smith of NAAGA, Jennifer Carlson, Robert Cottrol, Simon Wendt, and Nicholas Johnson.
[17] I have known of Rich Brown of the American Warrior Society for some time now, but never had the chance to meet or speak with him until my appearance on “Coffee with Rich” (streamed live on July 19, 2021). We had a very interesting and wide-ranging conversation not only about guns and my Concealed Carry Revolution book, but about America as a whole, who we are as a nation and where we are going.
[16] I recorded a conversation about American gun culture with the folks at East Tennessee PBS for their “Black in Appalachia” podcast back in November 2020, and the podcast was finally released in July 2021.
[15] It doesn’t really get any bigger than “Gun Talk” with Tom Gresham, so I was excited to get my 7 minutes of reflected glory speaking with Tom about my book, Concealed Carry Revolution, and my work on gun culture more generally. [June 2021]
[14] A student in my Sociology of Guns seminar at Wake Forest went to high school with a student at Princeton University who is involved with a podcast called “Policy Punchline.” The students were incredibly well-prepared for this podcast, and asked so many good questions that at one point I said, “If I could answer that question, I would be a professor at Princeton.” [February 2021]
[13] I was excited to join Sarah Hauptman, Jon Hauptman, and Connor Daine to discuss Gun Culture 2.0 and “normal” gun owners in November 2020.
[12] In this series, hosted by the Duke Center for Firearms Law, experts discuss various aspects of firearms law & policy and the role of guns in the ongoing pandemic. In this interview, I discuss my research on the sociology of guns, Gun Culture 2.0, and how to understand gun buying during the COVID19 pandemic. [5 June 2020]
[11] In 2018, I spoke with Dr. Celine Gounder for her “In Sickness and In Health” podcast series on gun violence in America (see entry #8 below). Now, 2 years later, the final episode of that series is out (the podcast is now called “American Diagnosis”). I appear alongside David Hogg of March for Our Lives fame and my friend Kevin Creighton. I’m flattered to have been given the last word (of sorts) in such a long podcast series.
[10] It took two years for John Johnston to recover from my first appearance, but I finally managed to get invited back on Ballistic Radio in February 2020. Although we covered a lot of ground, we focused on my work on gun advertising as a “mirror and mold” of gun culture. Have a listen and maybe the metrics will justify another visit in 2022.
[9] When the host of Civilian Carry Radio asked if I would be a guest host on the show’s 100th episode with John Murphy of FPF Training, he did not know that I was scheduled to take a course with Murphy the weekend before his appearance. It was a happy coincidence — or proof of the existence of God, depending on your perspective. Either way, I enjoyed being on the show with special guest Murphy and gun trainers Tatiana Whitlock, and Tim Chandler.
[8] When Celine Gounder, host of “In Sickness and In Health” podcast reached out to me about her upcoming season on gun violence, I made clear that my scholarly expertise is in gun CULTURE not gun VIOLENCE. She assured me that this is what she wanted to learn more about, so I spoke to her for around an hour and trusted her to do justice to my thoughts when she edited them. Seven months later, the episode of the podcast on which I appear dropped. It is a tightly constructed 28 minutes of content and I was pleased to share the stage with fellow student of Gun Culture 2.0, Kevin Creighton of the Misfires and Light Strikes blog. Also, if you are interested in my personal story of getting into Gun Culture 2.0 and haven’t read one of my earliest posts, I talk about this story quite a bit on this podcast.
[7] The tri-hosts of the Practically Tactical Podcast — Nick Humphries, Jeff Bloovman, and Jesse Gullikson — got me to talk more than I ever have about the challenges of doing research on guns as a sociologist, having one foot outside the gun culture and one foot in it, and gun politics in general, among other things. For those for whom words alone are not enough, you can also watch a recording of the live video stream on YouTube.
[6] When I appeared on Episode #240 of Ballistic Radio with John Johnston and Melody Lauer (4 February 2018), the three previous guests had been historian, trainer, and shooter extraordinaire Karl Rehn, History’s Top Shot “rat fink” Caleb Giddings, and living legend Tom Givens. Cue the Sesame Street song, “One of these things is not like the others, which one is different, do you know?”
[5] As I noted at the time, I was very excited to talk with Karl Rehn about the evolution of gun culture and gun training on Episode 445 of the Handgun World Podcast (7 January 2018).
[4] I talked about my background, my work, and how gun owners are people, too (an early precursor to “Guns are Normal,” on the Gun Blog VarietyCast, Episode 169 (posted on my birthday, 12 November 2017). My section starts around the 16 minute mark.
[3] Although not a podcast, one of the audio conversations I have had that I am most proud of is a discussion with my friend, David Ford, on our local NPR radio station (WFDD, 6 October 2017). We talked about contemporary gun culture in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre.
[2] I got invited on the Polite Society Podcast a second time, this time to talk about the article I published on religion and gun ownership. This time it was Episode 401 from February 19, 2017.
[1] You never forget your first podcast: Episode 322 of the Polite Society Podcast (4 April 2015).
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